 University of Alabama, this is Mission Control Houston. Please call station for a voice check. Station, this is Stephanie Plumb with the University of Alabama. How do you hear me? Hi, Stephanie. Welcome to the International Space Station. I have you loud and clear. Great. Well, thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you today. Just gonna dive into the first question. Was becoming an astronaut your goal when you enrolled at the University of Alabama? Yeah, that's a good question. I actually, you know, I always dreamed of being an astronaut, but it was just that it was a dream. And my career goals had more to do with aviation and being an Air Force pilot and a test pilot. And so my goals when I enrolled in, you know, in the aerospace engineering program there at Alabama was to further my chances of becoming a test pilot. And certainly that is a building block along the way to eventually becoming an astronaut. But it was beyond my wildest dreams. Even today, it's beyond my wildest dreams that I get to do something like this. So yeah, my goal at the time was to become a test pilot. And so getting that engineering degree and that education from Alabama was, you know, a key point in that path. So eventually you did become an astronaut. How did the University of Alabama play a role in you eventually becoming an astronaut or influence your journey to reach the International Space Station? Well, certainly, you know, furthering your education and continuing to learn is a super important part and a skill set that all astronauts up here possess. But, you know, there's some of the intangible things that you gain along the way as well. And, you know, those are working as a team. Any academic endeavor really takes some level of grit and determination and perseverance to get through it. And, you know, those qualities kind of really enabled, I think a lot of the things that paved that path for me to be able to at least have a chance at becoming an astronaut. There's also a degree of luck and timing involved in all of that. But certainly it has given me opportunities that I never would have dreamed possible. And the fact that I'm standing here today is certainly a testament to some of those opportunities that University of Alabama has offered to me. As the flight engineer on the International Space Station, are you able to use what you learned through the University of Alabama as part of your mission on the space station? Absolutely. Certainly the perseverance and things like that when things go wrong is certainly a part of that. But one of the other things that I gained out of my education is a creative approach to problem solving. And, you know, working with all of my wonderful teammates up here, that is certainly something that we have to do when we're either fixing things that have broken or some of these science experiments up here and working on them and trying to get them to work the way they're designed to. Those creative approaches to problem solving are certainly an important skill set for us to have. And so absolutely, you know, that experience at University of Alabama has been put to good use up here, that's for sure. All right. Now, not everyone who dreams of becoming an astronaut will become an astronaut. You've got to reach your dream. But what is your advice to people who are thinking about pursuing graduate degrees to further their careers? Yeah, I think, you know, I think having a passion for learning is really important. And continuing to do that and exercise your mind and learning things and staying current and relevant is super, super important. For folks that want to become astronauts or aspire to do some other things that are, you know, having a far-reaching goal like that is super important. But I also encourage them to pursue something that they're passionate about. Don't do it to fill a square because you think it's gonna get you to something later just because it's filling a square. For me, it was becoming a pilot. That was something I was passionate about for as long as I can possibly remember. And that was always what I was pursuing. And it so happened that that led, that put me on a path where this opportunity was available. And so I think, you know, regardless of where you actually end up and whether you achieve those super high goals that you set for yourself, it's important that you are content and satisfied along the way where you can still be happy. And so finding something that you're passionate about is a really important part of that. What made you choose your particular graduate program and how did it work for your situation? Well, as I mentioned, I was a pilot in the Air Force and I really wanted to go to test pilot school was one of my big goals. And getting a master's degree was a way to further that and really what I felt would make me the best test pilot that I could be if and when I got there. And so that was kind of my goal when I enrolled in the aerospace engineering program there at Alabama. And it certainly paid off for me. The experiences that I had, the research that I got to take part in and the friends that I made, the professors that I had, all of them helped develop me as a person, both professionally and personally. And to eventually come out on the other side, I think I had the opportunity to become a test pilot and really, really enjoyed that. And all of that, we're just building blocks along the way to get me here to where I am today. And I'm really grateful for my experience there. All right, when was that moment in your career when you realized you could become an astronaut? This was not just a dream, it could be reality. Yeah, that's a good question, because like I said earlier, it was always a dream. It was something that I loved. I always looked up to astronauts, but it didn't necessarily feel attainable because it was just so far out there. And I was, I think in the Air Force for maybe six or seven years at that point, I was still trying to apply to test pilot school. And I read Rick Husband's biography and he was the commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia. And when I read his biography, there were a lot of similarities to the path that I had taken and the pursuits that I have gone on. And so when I saw those similarities, I just realized then that I think that was the first time that astronauts became real to me and that they were just real people that were passionate about what they did and threw their hat in the ring and were able to get selected. And so that was where it really became a tangible thing for me. And the future applications that I started throwing my name in the hat and eventually in 2017 was fortunate enough to get selected. All right, you've said before that the first thing you wanted to do when you made it to space was look out the window. What were your thoughts or your impression that first time you got to look out the window in space? I think it was just wow. I think I just said wow over and over again as we looked out the window. The very first chance was while we were still in our SpaceX Dragon capsule. And it was right after, well, a little while after engine cut off and we had separated from the second stage and we got out of the seat and I went over to the window as the first place I went and I looked out and the second stage was right there, not too far away from us, just floating just below us. And it was so surreal to look down on the earth which looks so natural from that vantage point and then see this man-made object flying alongside of you that you know, it helped you get to space. And so seeing that was such a surreal experience and then looking off into the, that was looking straight down and then looking off to the horizon and seeing the thin blue atmosphere and the stark contrast of the life of earth with the darkness of space was just absolutely incredible. And then getting up here to the space station and being able to look out the cupola where you see that in a 360 degree field of view is just amazing and it never gets old. Bob, thank you so much for speaking with us today with the University of Alabama and thank you to NASA for making this possible and Roll Tide. Absolutely, it was my pleasure and it was great talking with you, Roll Tide. Station, this is Houston ACR. That concludes the University of Alabama portion of the event.